Stupid Little Girl
by wasup113
Summary: Later he would question why he bothered to grab her instead of letting her rot on the forest floor, and he would say it was solely because they needed a medic nin. There wasn’t any other reason for taking the stupid little girl. ItaSaku


_**Stupid Little Girl**_

He watched her, the stupid little girl, he watched her every move. The way her pink hair framed her delicate face. The way her pale legs pushed her further. He noted how tears were streaming down her face, though she seemed to pay them no attention. Her clothes were torn, and she was bleeding in multiple places. How much longer would she last? His eyes then caught the sight of something red. There, in the middle of her stomach was a giant wound. This shortened her time immensely.

He watched as the group of rouge ninjas closed in on her. He gave a small snort of amusement, letting a small emotion sweep over his face before it returned blank. There must have been at lest six of them, not to mention the ones she had already killed, and yet they still had yet to take her down. In a single quick movement he swung down from the branch and wiped all of them out. The girl turned, her bright green eyes widening in surprise, or maybe it was horror, as she saw what happened.

He slowly made his way to her, knowing she only had so much time left. She turned, to surely try running again, but as she lifted her foot in the air her whole body seemed to waver. As though someone had shoved her, she collapsed to the ground into a motionless lump. He scooped her up and began to make his way back to the base. Later he would question why he bothered to grabbed her instead of letting her rot on the forest floor, and he would say it was _solely_ because they needed a medic nin. There wasn't any other reason for taking the stupid little girl.

* * *

Her eyes opened, and were met with a grey ceiling. As she tried to move she found herself not able to move very much for she was chained to the ground, and a sincere pain riveting through her body. She let out a small gasp, only to wish she hadn't as it caused more pain.

"I see your awake." Said a monotone voice.

She desperately wished she could see the owner of the voice so she wasn't left suspecting who it was. "…Itachi?" She asked, her voice coming much more timid than she had hoped it would.

"Ah, so I see I don't get the pleasure of getting -kun after my name like Sasuke." He seemed to joke, though his voice stayed the same.

There was a silent pause. "Will you kill me?" She asked, striking the Uchiha off guard. "And when you do, please dump my body and Konoha. I don't want them wondering." She said.

"Stupid little girl." Scoffed Itachi. "Do you really think I'd kill you because you asked me, let alone drop you off at Konoha?" He asked.

Sakura immediately refrained to her normal self and ignored the pain. "Stupid little Girl!? I'm sixteen I'll have you known! I may just be kind of short for my age, but I'm not a little girl! I'm also not stupid!" She exclaimed in anger balling up her fist as she tried to break free of the chain.

"If you were smart why haven't you've healed yourself yet?" He asked, the smirk slightly present in his voice.

Silent.

"I thought so." He said before walking out of the room.

* * *

Sakura's time at the Akatsuki base continued on uneventful. Itachi brought her food and water twice a day, which she took happily. When members were hurt, they were brought to her which she reluctantly healed after they threatened to attack the village. They also unchained her, and she didn't try to escape knowing that if she did she would be killed. As she began to get used to the environment, she would chatter away to Itachi as she ate and he waited to get back her dishes. She talked about a lot of things, but always stayed cleared of Sasuke.

One day as she finished talking he suddenly talked. "What's your relationship with Sasuke?" He asked.

She noticeably cringed. "He's a lot of things." She said.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at this. "Like what?"

Sakura paused. "He's an old teammate, also a S rank criminal I need to hunt down. I can also put him under the category as an old love." She said, her voice sounding bitter at the last part.

Silence.

"What would you say if I said I liked you more than Sasuke?" Sakura questioned to him, staring down at her small hands.

"Hn?"

"Just a question, you don't need to answer-"

A small, barely noticeable smirk came onto his face. "I'd say you must be tired, stupid little girl." And before she could object to this, he had left the room, leaving the pink haired Kunoichi alone and cursing herself for saying something.

* * *

He didn't come back for days after that. The boy who was taking care of her now, Deidara, said it was because Itachi had a mission. Deidara was a nice boy, closer to her age than Itachi, but Sakura found herself not able to chatter with him like Itachi. Especially since she had killed his partner, so there was an awkward tension between the two. After about a week of Sakura being stuck with Deidara, Itachi finally walked through the door with her food.

Against her wish, her face lit up in happiness. "Itachi!" She exclaimed, and then remembering that he did kidnap her, she scowled before saying, "Itachi," in a monotone voice.

"I'm surprised Deidara didn't kill you. He kept muttering before about how he was going to get back the bitch who killed Sasori, though I corrected him and told him it was the _stupid little girl_, not bitch." Itachi said in a flat voice, and by now Sakura knew that this was the closest Itachi could get to telling a joke. As much as in the beginning how she had wanted to strangle the onyx eyed man, and she hated to admit it to herself, he had grown on her. Not to mention one day Kisame had taken the liberty of telling the pink haired Kunoichi why Itachi killed his clan.

So she laughed. Her laughed filled up the room. And truthfully, Itachi wouldn't of had it any other way.

* * *

The day afterwards Sakura noticed Itachi walking with a limp. She mentally cursed herself for being so oblivious. So when Itachi came into her room with food, instead of scoffing it down and chattering away she ordered him to sit down. "Why?" He asked slightly annoyed.

"Because I can see that you're limping. If you sit down, I can heal it." She said bitterly.

He frowned but did as she said. She rolled up his pant leg to see a large cut. "I can't believe I didn't notice this yesterday…" She murmured quietly. After running her hands up the cut she looked back up at him. "Well luckily there wasn't any poison in it, so the treatment will be quicker." He grumbled something but Sakura paid no attention. Her hands glowed a light green with Chakra as she held them over the cut. After a minute or so she lifted her hands, only to reveal unblemished skin. "There." She said, smiling lightly.

He gave a quiet, "Hn." Which Sakura took as a thank you, and she secretly smiled to herself.

* * *

Two or three weeks later, and after much thought on Sakura's part, there was a question that she wanted to ask. When Itachi opened the door he found Sakura sitting nervously. Something had been on her mind. "Itachi," She started, making Itachi give her his full attention. "Do you think I'll ever go back to Konoha?" She asked.

Itachi paused. "Maybe." And even though it was said out loud as a maybe, it sounded more like a probably not.

Sakura took a deep breath. "If I do, would you come with me?" She asked in a small, timid voice.

This question caught him off guard, though he did not show it. "There would be no point. No one would want me." He said.

Sakura looked up at him with her bright green eyes. "I would. Just so you know, I would."

Itachi scowled deeply at the girl. "Even if you would, it would still be pointless. Don't go saying things you can't keep, _Sakura_." He said before turning around and heading out of the room. Sakura sat there, and for the first time since her arrival at the Akatsuki base, cried. Maybe even more than when Sasuke left. Who knew.

* * *

The next time they saw each other was rushed and a week from the last time. Shouting could be heard from the base. Orochimaru was there. Sakura was pretty sure he was planning on attacking. Sakura sat all alone in the room, assuming that they had forgotten about her. When the door opened, she expected the snake man to walk in, or even worse, Sasuke. But instead Itachi came in. In the same movement that he had picked her up in when the first met, he began carrying her away from the base.

"Why aren't you protecting the base!?" She shouted at Itachi as she struggled to get out of his grip.

"Stupid Little girl. He's not attacking the base. He's trying to get us to join him when he attacks Konoha. The shouting was just some ruckus Tobi and Deidara stirred up. I'm taking you away because if he finds you he'll either kill you or use you to his own needs." And with that the two of them fell silent. Unlike their usual silences, this one was awkward. Sakura had the nagging feeling on her heart that she was beginning to like Itachi more than one should.

Finally, after uncomfortable hours of Sakura in Itachi arms, they reached Konoha's gate. "You wanted me to dump your body at Konoha. Here's your wish, though you're not dead." He said, letting her body slip slowly from him arms. Sakura was reluctant to let go of him. It was undeniable that a bond had grown between them, and even their last argument could not tear it.

"I don't want to leave you…" Sakura muttered, not letting go of Itachi's cloak's sleeve.

Itachi gave a chuckle. "We have to separate at some point. Besides, why would you want to be around a man like me?" He asked.

Sakura frowned at him and let go of him. "There are plenty of reasons." She said, but he had already turned and was about to take off again, about to leave her alone. She was crying. She was crying so badly now. She noted that she probably looked like she had when she was little while being teased about her forehead. She didn't care though, because from what she knew, sometimes it wasn't best to bottle up emotions.

He turned, surprised to see her crying. Over him? None less he stopped and took a couple steps back towards her. He towered over her by far, but he didn't really mind. "Don't cry." He said, not being able to think of anything else to say.

"Will you come back?" She asked him, her green eyes glazed over with tears.

"I don't know, but remember this; you're my stupid little girl." And he smiled. Uchiha Itachi smiled. It was small, but he smiled, and it was for, and only for, Haruno Sakura. Sakura stood there, and before she knew it, he was gone in a flash. She stood there for many more moments, wondering if she would wakeup to find herself in her apartment, cold and alone.

* * *

Sakura bolted down the streets of Konoha, trying to reach Tsunade's office. She must have been gone for well over a month. As she turned a corner she ran straight into someone. "Ugh~" A voice moaned.

Sakura knew that voice. "Naruto?" She asked quietly. There he was, standing there. Not far behind him was a worried Hinata, a Neji looking to good for everyone, a Chouji shoving chips in his mouth, a Shikamaru standing there looking bored, a Tenten sharpening some random weapon, a Lee boasting about youthfulness, a Shino messing with a bug, a Kiba checking out some girls passing by, and last a Ino looking purely shocked at the sight of Sakura. "I'm sorry!" Sakura exclaimed, forgetting once again that she had been gone for what seemed to everyone else like forever.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, his eyes going wide in shock.

She was then glomped by her friends who glomped, and greeted normally by the others. Yet when they hugged her, her mind slightly drifted away wondering what it would be like if Itachi held her closely like this. Shaking the idea from her mind, she pried Naruto off of her. "Sorry everyone, but I have to see Lady Tsunade." With that she scurried away, leaving everyone dumbfounded and still wondering what happened to her.

* * *

Sakura swung open the doors to Tsunade's office almost out of breath but still enough left to tell her the reason she was back. "Orochimaru's going to Attack."

* * *

She was the first to see. She was the first to notice the snake in the bushes creeping out to attack. She could see it's eyes, a eerie yellow that made her think of death. She quickly pulled out a shrunkien and threw it, watching as it hit it target. A dark red blood splattered across the ground as the reptile made an disgusting noise. She would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid. She was terrified, she was even shaking slightly.

A hissing noise filled the air, and the fight had begun.

Blood was everywhere, some of it human, some of it snake. There were so many weapons flying through the air. Sakura knew she was out of the area she was suppose to be in. She had been instructed to stay around the gates, but now she was waste deep in enemies and fear. But she knew why she was out this far. It was to do something no one else dared to do. She was going to, or try to, kill the snake man.

She slashed her sword across another snake and watched as the blood stained her clothing. That's when she saw him.

He was leaning against a tree trunk as though he had been waiting for her, which he very well might of. "Sakura Haruno, I presume? I've heard a great deal about you." The snake man hissed at her a sadistic grin forming on his face. Even though part of her wanted to turn around and run, she stood her ground facing the sadistic man whom she planned to kill, even at the cost of her own life. His grin only increased at her silence. "Might as well get this over with." He said, lunging forward at her quickly.

She barely dodged it, being caught off guard. She cursed herself and prepared herself, swiping at the snake man the next chance she had only for him to disappear with a poof. A kunai came flying at her, embedding itself into her left shoulder. In a swift movement she pulled it out. She could sense him a bit to the right and threw a shrunkien at him. She heard his soft grunt from where she hit him. She turned quickly, running at him. He was backed up against a tree but as she neared he seemed to dissolve into water and disappear, leaving her alone again.

"You're putting up a good fight for a medical nin, Haruno-san." Orochimaru hissed at her, throwing some more weapons at her which she dodges. This slowly became the routine in their battle, each of them getting in a few hits now and then.

Another Shrunkien embedded itself into Sakura, and as she was pulling it out, Orochimaru took the chance. He had her in his grip in a matter of seconds, his sword pressed lightly against her neck drawing a small amount of blood from the pink haired Kunoichi. "So very sorry Haruno-san, but it seems as if your time is up." She didn't know what to do. She had failed, again. She had failed to defeat him, let alone inflict very much damage into him. Maybe she really was a Stupid Little girl like Itachi had always said. She braced herself for the pain of his sword, but never felt it.

Orochimaru was thrown back forcefully, but regained balance as Sakura toppled to the ground in shock. Sakura looked up to see Itachi standing there, a scowl being played out on his features. "Who said you could hurt Sakura?" He asked, venom leaking out of his voice. Orochimaru seemed frightened at the fact that Uchiha Itachi was there, about to battle against him, but soon regain composer and smirked sadistically at him.

"You're back…" She whispered quietly with wide eyes, almost like she couldn't actually believe it, that Itachi was back and fighting for her.

"Uchiha Itachi, so nice to see the brother of Sasuke." Orochimaru sneered. Itachi only scowled deeper at the snake man. Before Sakura knew it, they were lunging at each other, but it seemed as though they were even. "Before I kill you, I'll kill your little Cherry Blossom." Sakura flinched at the pet name, but then realized what he said. She began to get up to try and run, or at least move away from him, only to fine Orochimaru standing in front of her again with his sword. In a single swift movement he sliced a long cut across her body. The world fell deaf in her ears as her vision began to give. Her body slumped over into a motionless pile making Itachi furious. As he stated before, Sakura was _his _stupid little girl. And no way was he letting the fucking snake man mess with that. He wasn't Itachi Uchiha for nothing.

* * *

The ninjas slowly began to clean up. They had won, because, much to their surprise, all of the sudden the snakes had stopped. Not very many were did, though quite a few were injured badly. Everything seemed okay. That was until Ino noticed something. "Forehead?" She called, expecting her pink haired friend to come popping out of no where. Yet all she got in reply was silence. "Forehead!?" She shouted again, getting the attention of some of her friends. There was no answer and panic had begun to envelope the group.

Tsunade had approached, unaware of the current situation. When she saw the alarmed looks of the group she immediately asked what was wrong. Naruto was the one to answer his grandmother. "Sakura's gone." And like that, Tsunade had a sinking feeling. The fact that they couldn't see pink hair anywhere made her wonder why Orochimaru ended the battle so suddenly, without anyone seeing him. Had he kidnapped her? Was that the real reason why he came? Or had she defeated him at the cost of her own life? Was the pink haired Kunoichi still alive even?

The sound of rustling braches alarmed everyone even more as they all turned with their weapons ready. As the brush parted a tall figure emerged. His cloak trailed behind him and in his arms laid a limp Sakura. Blood trickled down both figures. As they came closer Naruto began to advance but Tsunade held him back. "Leave," She commanded. "Let me deal with him."

As everyone reluctantly began to disperse, they heard him say one thing in his monotone voice. "She needs medical attention immediately." And so, as they returned to the village to see what damage had been done, they all wondered why Itachi Uchiha was telling them that Sakura needed medical attention.

* * *

Sakura began to stir slightly. Her muscles felt stiff and her body ached slightly. She felt as though someone had stabbed her. She slowly opened her eyes to see bright blue ones staring back. "Sakura-chan!" The voice exclaimed, making her ears ring in pain. "You're awake!" He said, a giant grin plastered on his face.

"Eh… quiet down Naruto…" She murmured sleepily sitting up as he stood back. The door swung open, and much to her dismay, a certain blonde haired girl came bounding in with her friends following.

"Forehead!" Ino exclaimed, glomping her. "We were so scared when we couldn't find you! And then Itachi Uchiha came with you in his arms! We thought-" The blonde began but was cut off by Sakura.

"Itachi! Where is he?" Sakura asked her eyes wide as she slowly began to remember what happened the night before on the battle field. How Itachi came and saved her from Orochimaru. How he fought him for _her._ How weeks before she used to chatter on and on about everything that had happened to her, how he would listen. How that one night he smiled at her.

"Don't worry, Lady Tsunade took care of him." Ino said smiling slightly.

This only increased her fear though. Her eyes went wide. "No! She couldn't of!" Her eyes were wide with fear and sorrow as her body slumped back down. Was he gone? Was Itachi Uchiha really gone. Ignoring everyone stares at her she gazed out the window in the small hospital room. "Itachi…" She whispered a tear sliding down her cheek.

* * *

"Is it true?" Sakura demanded standing at Tsunades desk.

The woman looked at her shocked. "What?"

"Is it true that Itachi's gone?!" Sakura demanded again not being able to say the word _dead_ while bringing her fists down on the desk as tears streamed silently down her pale face.

After a moment of silence Tsunade breathed out the words Sakura had been praying not to here. "Yes…"

Sakura with drew her fists and stumbled back. "No…" She murmured, her eyes wide in horror. Her whole body was trembling. He was gone… He probably would of lived another twenty or thirty years if it wasn't for her. She backed up more. "No…" Tsunade didn't know what to do. Why was Sakura so sad about Itachi? Unless they really did bond while she was captured. Sakura then turned and ran out of the room thinking one thing.

Why did fate hate stupid little girls?

* * *

Naruto had suggested they get ramen, and so when everyone but Sakura agreed she was pulled along reluctantly. Yet she couldn't stand to eat a bite. Why should she eat when Itachi was probably lying in an unmarked grave. His skin was probably cold, his eyes lifeless. She stared at the table, her eyes unblinking and glazed over. Everyone stared at her worriedly. "Sakura…?" Naruto questioned the girl, only to get no response. You would of assumed that she had died.

* * *

"Should we tell her?" Shizune question Tsunade.

Tsunade sighed. "I don't know… The toll it's taken on her is more than I ever thought possible. I thought after Sasuke left she was almost immune to this kind of stuff. Really, what is it with Uchiha's and Sakura?" She questioned leaning back in her chair. She let out a loud sigh. "No, don't tell her. But let him out. After all, he did come back to fight for Konoha. Hate to say it, but he's growing on me too."

* * *

Sakura stared out in space again. It had been two months since the battle. Since Itachi… This brought tears to her eyes again. She couldn't believe that Tsunade killed him! She kept on expecting him to call her a stupid little girl again, giving her that barely noticeable smile. Yet here she was, with everyone else at the ramen place, without him.

She turned her attention back out to the street. She sighed heavily, not noticing her friends concerned looks. None of them could still really grasp the concept that their friend's depression was all because of Itachi Uchiha. A couple years back Sakura would of said that she hated Itachi because of what he did to the Uchiha clan, and yet here she was basically crying over him?

Sakura's pink haired laid limply on her shoulders as she stared out into space for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. She wanted to seem him again, to hold him tightly, to have him smile at her again. Yet there was no one. This was worse than Sasuke, because she truly loved Itachi. Sasuke, she had had a crush on him. But he was perfect. Itachi, she was in love with him. And he had flaws, like how he murdered his clan, how he failed to show emotion most of the time. Yet she could still stand to love him. But he was dead? Her mind didn't seem to want to except that, and neither did she.

There were some gasps from around her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She squinted into the sun, trying to see what they were all looking at. She could make out the faint outline of a figure. Her breath caught in her throat. Why did the outline look so familiar? She stood up from her seat, taking a step towards the street. It couldn't be. The figure, tall and muscular, made it's way to the ramen stand. The sun, now behind the persons head, was no longer bothering her eyes. She gasped, her eyes going wide and her mouth slightly agape.

She ran as fast as she could. It was only a short distance, so she got there within a couple of seconds. She tackled Itachi in a hug, tears streaming down her face. "Itachi…" She whispered, a large smile on her face. She pulled back to see him smiling down at her. "I-I thought you were d-dead…" She murmured still looking up at him.

He ruffled her hair slightly. "I'm not going to die without saying goodbye to my stupid little girl." And then, he did something he would of never thought he would do. He leaned down and kissed her softly. After a few seconds of processing it she kissed him back. Short and sweet, something that before Sakura had gotten to know him she would of sworn was impossible for Itachi to do.

"I love you…" Sakura whispered ever so quietly, head leaning against his chest, listening to his heart beat which sped up a bit after she told him.

He wasn't able to keep down the grin on his face. "I love you too, Stupid little girl."

* * *

**Sorry, I made Itachi a little OOC! Hoped you enjoyed!**


End file.
